Hi Guys, The 'magic Wand' is used to do things like reset the decoder and change the sound volume. You can use the magnet wand instead of changing the CV's directly. The Whistle and bell can be controlled in DC mode by using the reversing switch on your power pack. A quick flip back and forth of the reverse switch will turn the bell on do it again and the bell will turn off. Flip the reversing switch and leave it in the alternate direction will activate the whistle. return it to the forward and the whistle will turn off. With that said I tried these functions in DC mode with an MRC 220 power pack and had issues. The power pack has a relay that does not flip as fast as a switch so the bell would not activate. The loco also lost power momentarily sending it into the startup sequence. This is easily overcome buy wiring in a reversing toggle switch between the power pack and track. In DCC mode the loco is easily controlled by function switches. The Quantum Engineer controller makes controlling the loco functions easy in DC mode. In all this is a very nice decoder and a much improved loco over the initial Life Like version.
I wonder if the Precision or Athearn controllers would ding the bell and toot the whistle in DC as I have those already .
Good question! Precision Craft uses Quantum decoders and I believe that their controller would work with the Walthers 2-8-8-2 also. It looks identical except for the logo.
As mentioned above. The bell and whistle can be controled in DC. There is a bit of a technique to it. With the throttle on to the point that the loco makes sound but is not moving, changing direction from one way to the other turns the bell on. Moving it back turns it off. I have an old MRC 4000 controler on my test loop and the switch is getting old. If I pushed down on it I would have the same problem with the loco loosing power and going through the start up again. The bell is turned off and on by a quick fwd/rev then back to fwd switch. To change directions, you need to back the throttle down to the point that the light dims then use the direction switch as normal. In DC mode the decoder has a momentum built in that you need to get used too. Also there is an over voltage protection that toots the whistle and shuts down the loco if you go above 12v or so. I never measured to see exactly where the protection kicked in. All in all pretty cool. I ran one today on DCC and the other sounds are not real spectacular or usefull except for maybe the coupler crash. The flange squeal does and a bit of effect also.
I just got my ATSF Y3 delivered today, thanks Chuck - choo choo noises happening right now - like a kid in a candy store :tb-biggrin::thumbs_up: The sound is a bit addictive and pretty load - how'd they get the darlek in the tender?
Precision has used both QSI and LokSound decoders and they sell a controller for each. The one they sell for the QSI decoders should work with the 2-8-8-2, but the other probably would not. The wireless controller that comes with some Athearn engines definitely would not work.
Hey Skipgear When I first put my Walthers Y3 on the track under DCC ontrol I found that that darn pin and post drawbar connection seemed to come apart frequently. I then saw the screw head on the drawbar attaching it to the loco and screwed it in a little. It seemed to hang together better and having run it on and off -the longest being about 30min -it seems to have loosened up a bit. I saw your video on youtube thanks, and the stills of the loco too. My questions to you are: did you have to adjust the drawbar and how long did you do the loco break in? My layout has rises and declines and some sharp curves. It seems to negotiate everything well when running by itself but not great when coupled with other cars. All my other loco's on the DCC track have no issues but this is the only steamer I have on this particular track and while it runs well I don't think I could get it to pull 28 cars like the video. Thanks for any clarification you may be able to provide.
I meant that after running it for about 30 minutes the drive mechanism has loosened up a bit not the drawbar screw.
I have played with 4 of these now, 3 DCC sound and 1 DC only. Out of the group, one of the DCC sound units had a loose drawbar as you described. I ran the screw in till tight and solved the problem. The loco in the video is litteraly out of the box. I took it apart later to inspect the drive train changes and when I put it back together, I overtightened the screw that holds on the trailing truck. That caused a few derailments of the trailing truck but nothing else. Loosening the screw fixxed it. One DC unit had excessive lube on that was seeping out everywhere and onto the drivers. It would barely pull 15 cars until I cleaned the drivers. I ran the loco on a cleaning cloth first, then removed the TT driver. I removed the TT from the driver and cleaned both in soap and water. Once dry, I put things back together and it pulled 25 cars with out a problem. Those are the only two problems that I have encountered. Steam loco's need close to perfect track work. Diesels trucks are much shorter and more flexible than steam and can deal with trak irregularities and direction changes much easier. The test loop I run on is Kato unitrak which is pretty bullet proof. On your layout, check for abrupt elevation changes and abrupt changes in radius. The test loop has a 9 3/4 Radius section just to test the limits of a loco but it has a 11" before and after it to sort of act as an easement. Verticle changes must be very gradual. I have a 6" flat steel block that I lay on the track and if it has more than a 1mm gap anywhere along it's length, I will adjust the track to cure that. You should be able to run your finger along the rails and not detect rail joints or direction changes.
